Geranium erianthum DC.
northern geranium (northern crane's-bill; woolly geranium)
Geraniaceae (Geranium family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
northern geranium (northern crane's-bill; woolly geranium)
Geraniaceae (Geranium family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a thick stem-base or rhizome; stems ascending to erect, branched hairy with the hairs pointed downward, 20-80 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves few, palmately divided into 3-7 segments, rounded in outline, irregularly toothed, long-stalked, 1.5-10 cm long, wider than long; stem leaves similar, opposite, unstalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal cluster of 2-5 short-stalked flowers; petals blue to pinkish-purple, rarely white, glabrous on the inner surface except hairy at the base, 16-20 mm long; sepals 8-12 mm long with bulbous-tipped hairs, tips of the sepals bristly; anther filaments conspicuously long-hairy, the hairs up to 3 mm long.
Fruits:
Carpels, hairy; styles 25-32 mm long, the beak 6-9 mm long; seeds solitary, these flung out when the carpel suddenly splits.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Early Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Geranium erianthum
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
888 | 250 | 1700 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
21 | 0 | 90 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
205 | 5 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 1 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
126 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ICH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BAFA(14), BWBS(1), ESSF(19), ICH(40), IDF(2), MH(5), SBPS(1), SBS(38), SWB(6) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to moist meadows, thickets and open forests in the montane to lower alpine zones; common in the Coast Mountains N of 54degreeN, rare eastward in BC; amphiberingian, N to AK and YT and E to W AB; E Asia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Geranium pratense var. erianthum (DC.) B. Boivin